Deniece Williams owns of
the sweetest voices in soul music, and she utilized that voice on a series
of hits in the 70s and 80s.With a range comparable to Minnie Riperton, Williams scored
repeatedly with singles that charted on the soul, pop, and adult
contemporary charts.She was
also one of the relatively few female artists to maintain creative control
of her output, writing and producing much of her material.

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She began her career in the
late 1960s with a single, “Love Is Tears,” but received a big boost when
she was selected as one of the members of Wonderlove, Stevie Wonder’s
backing singers, in 1972.With Wonder, she was part of his legendary tour with the Rolling
Stones, and was able to establish new contacts that would prove beneficial
to her solo career.

Upon leaving Wonder in
1975, she affiliated herself with Maurice White, then looking to establish
a stable of artists under his direction.The result was the 1976
album This Is Niecy, which featured the mellow classic “Free,” a
top five single and British number one.The album also contained the
spiritually-oriented“Watching Over,” a reflection of her gospel roots.The album also featured "Cause You
Love Me Baby" and "That's What Friends Are For."

Her sophomore album
Songbird was titled after her nickname, and was home to another
hit in “Baby, Baby My Love's All for You."

During this period, she
also formed a successful partnership with Johnny Mathis, teaming up with
the legend for her first chart-topping crossover smash, “Too Much, Too
Little, Too Late.”Their album That’s What Friends Are For went gold and
contained a further top 10 cut with their remake “You’re All I Need To Get
By.”Williams and Mathis
would connect again in the 80s for the theme to Family Ties.

In 1979, Williams notched a
club hit in “I’ve Got The Next Dance,” but the album from which it came,
When Love Comes Calling, had disappointing sales.

This situation was remedied
with My Melody, perhaps her finest hour. Produced by Williams and
architect of Philly soul Thom Bell, this record included great numbers
like “Do What You Feel” and “Silly.”It is often cited as one of the best soul albums of the
decade.
Bell and Williams combined for the following year’s
number one single "It's Gonna Take A Miracle" as well.

Williams reached the
pinnacle of her mainstream popularity when her contribution to the
Footloose soundtrack, "Let's Hear It for the Boy," was one of the
biggest hits of 1984.The record of
the same name also had the uplifting paen to black pride "Black
Butterfly.”

Her contract with
Columbia
ended in 1986 and Williams began recording gospel exclusively.Her debut for Sparrow, So Glad
I Know, was produced by Maurice White and won the first of many
awards she would receive for her gospel recordings. She returned to secular music with
an album of covers in 2007.